I know it has been a while since I logged in but I have been super busy with school...anywho I need your help....I have to write a paper about aging and I have four questions to ask people and I thought it would be a neat I dea to post it on here and see what kind of responces I get so it would be awsome If you guys could help me out by just answering the 4 questions for me

What is the age when we are “old?”
What is the best thing about getting old?
What is the worst thing about getting old?
What scares you about getting old?
if you decide to do this thanks in advance!!!!

Saysusie

08-27-2007, 10:47 AM

Hi SeaMonkey;
Here are my responses

Q - What is the age when we are “old?”
A - Depends upon if we are talking about "physically" old or "mentally" old. For me, physically old starts when our bodies stop cooperating with us. Mentally old happens when we succumb to the fact that our bodies are no longer cooperating and give up on life.

Q- What is the best thing about getting old?
I'm going to rephrase the question to ask "what is the best thing about getting older?
A- The best thing is knowing that we've earned the right to say "I don't have to take this @!# anymore, I don't have to put up with this !@# anymore and I have the right to do what makes me happy and you should respect the fact that I've lived through a lot and have earned the right to be where I am!"

Q -What is the worst thing about getting old?
Knowing how much time and energy and how many opportunities I wasted, when I was young, on things that are just not that important. And now that I am older, wiser and have a better perspective of what is and is not important, I will not be given those opportunities again, and that I will not be given back the time and the energy that I wasted . I.E. - "Youth is wasted on the young!"

What scares you about getting old?
Becoming completely dependent, unable to care for myself and having to have all of my physical needs exposed to strangers! To be alert mentally but completely dependent physically!

I hope this helps you :P

Peace and Blessings
Saysusie

ErinBonnie

08-27-2007, 11:05 AM

thanks saysusie

TERIOD

08-27-2007, 01:35 PM

im in agreement with saysuzie on this with the addition to number two, one of the best thing about getting older is in the aquiring of proper knowledge and the ability and the know how on how and when to use it properly

hatlady

08-27-2007, 03:49 PM

Wow, thoughtful questions. Saysusie has given some great responses, I doubt I can sound more profound than she did! Here's some comments from me...I'm 55 in a couple weeks, by the way.

What is the age when we are “old?”

Well, the "flip" answer is 30 years older than I am. But I think "old" is more than an age. Some days I groan and say "Oh I'm so old! I remember Eisenhauer as president!" Other days I look at one of my workout partners and say - "She's 79 years young!"

"Old", I think, is when we stop marvelling at each new day and no longer find a thrill in a sunrise.

What is the best thing about getting old?

All the 'history' I've accumulated! I've seen half a century of this world's travels around the sun! I've learned from so many people - some of that can only come with age. Young people can be wise beyond their years, expecially if they've had the chance to travel extensively. But it takes years of living to really understand what it means to get older, to learn and grow and lose people you love. And to be happy just watching a rose bloom!

All the history I've accumulated with those I love - my partner of almost 30 years, our friends of many years, my relatives, all that takes time to grow, mature and develop. When I met my partner, I told her "I want to grow old with you!" We've laughed and revised that now "We are growing old together, but this decrepit stuff? No one told us about that!"

What is the worst thing about getting old? What scares you about getting old?

These two go together for me. Getting creakier and not being able to do as much as I used to - energy and strentgh diminish. Worrying about becomming dependent. In our society there isn't a good safety net - will I have saved enough when I retire? Will I be able to afford thehealth care I need?

Best with your studies, and I hope these answers help you!

ErinBonnie

08-27-2007, 07:12 PM

You guys have offered more help then I could have ever asked or thanks for al the great responces!!! :D

magistramarla

08-31-2007, 06:22 PM

Hi ErinBonnie,
I hope that it is not too late to contribute to this. I've been a little busy with the first week of school.
First, I want to refer you to the Sept. issue of the Oprah magazine. On p. 107, you will find a lovely little essay about getting old. Enjoy!

What is the age when we are “old?”
When I was in college,I used to think that it was 30. When I was a young mother, I thought that it was 50. Now that I will be 50 in 3 days, I'm thinking about it more, and I'm thinking that it will always be that age that is 20 years down the road. Thanks to the autoimmune disease that I have, my body feels "old". Thanks to the teenagers that I work with every day, my mind feels just as young as it did when I was their age. My husband and I both feel that our minds still feel as young as when we met and married over 30 years ago. The problem is that sometimes our bodies disagree.

What is the best thing about getting old?
Wisdom, and being respected for that wisdom. I love it when my own kids, or my students, seek me out for advice, and ask "What did you do in this situation when you were my age?". Another thing is freedom. We are no longer as tied down by a young family and are less financially restricted than we were when we were younger. If my husband is sent somewhere interesting by the Air Force (like Las Vegas), there is nothing to keep me from going with him.

What is the worst thing about getting old?
The fact that my body is failing me. Some days, I feel so exhausted when I get home from school, just moving from the couch is an effort. I really felt bad when my husband recently mentioned that he missed the long walks that we used to take together. Lately, I've been in so much pain, I can't even walk to the end of the block.
Another "worst thing" is the fact that we have been losing our parents over the last few years. My mother, who was abusive, was no big loss, but the losses of my father and my mother-in-law have hit me hard. My husband has said "We were once the sandwich generation, but we're quickly becoming the crust". That says it all.

What scares you about getting old?
My mother and my aunt both had Alzheimer's. That scares me. I have a high I.Q. and I have always lived by my intellect. The thought of losing that intellect is almost more than I could bear. I would rather be totally broken-down physically than to get to the point of not recognizing my own sweet children and grandchildren, or even worse, the love of my life - Jeff.

Wow, these were some great questions!
if you decide to do this thanks in advance!!!!

Oluwa

08-31-2007, 06:40 PM

Being 46..
What is the age when we are “old?”
When you pinch your skin on your hand and it stands an inch and stays that way for the rest of the day.

What is the best thing about getting old?
Letting go of all your fears and letting the girls fall where they may. On the lap, pass the knees, pinched in the crack of your forearm.

What is the worst thing about getting old?
The soul towing an old carcass around.

What scares you about getting old?
Going to the cementry to visit my family, falling down and no one finding me for two days.

Old...Is it about the way you look or is it about the way you feel...in either case, I am old.

Rickety because of Lupus,
Oluwa

mnjodette

09-03-2007, 01:16 PM

This is such a good thread, I can't resist chiming in a little. The 'pros' about getting old include greater acceptance of who I am - and who other's are, too. I like myself soooooo much better than I did when I was 25 (or 35, or 45!) And if someone else doesn't particularly like me, that's OK...there are others that like me just fine the way I am! When I was younger, I was sure everyone was paying attention to every little flaw, every little mistake. Now I know that most people don't notice those things, and if they do I don't care so much anymore.

The 'cons' about getting old are obvious: my body isn't what it used to be. Lupus has taken it's toll, and steroids still make me 'moon-faced'. My husband still tells me I'm pretty, and that I look younger than a lot of women my age. And, he's adjusted so well to the limitations we now have in our vacations and activities. Nice guy, my husband! Like Magistramarla, I worry about Alzheimers - both my mother and grandmother died from it, and I don't want that to be my fate.